Tuesday, 12 January 2010

Congratulations!Today is your day.You’re off to Great Places!You’re off and away!

You have spells in your book.Or a sword in your sheath.Or a minstrel’s fine lute.Or the tools of a thief.You’re off with your party, and you know where there’s treasure.To buy beer, feasts and wenches, whichever’s your pleasure.

You’ll look up and down tunnels. Look ‘em over with care.About some you will say, “I’m too smart to go there”With your old book of spells, and your sword in it’s sheath,You’ll seek out the tunnels where you won’t come to grief.

And you may not find anyYou’ll want to exploreIn which case, of course,Go outside to seek more.

Friday, 8 January 2010

...above the roof of creation there is a a world of pipes and vanes, groaning with the breeze; wrought iron and rusted brass, filling the sky from brim to brim. it is a quiet, calm place, not quite real and yet more solid than a dream, ethereal and yet material. the sky is painted grey and umber, like dust upon a dry riverbed.

...it does not rain here, nor does the wind blow, for no seasons pass in a world without a compass. and yet there is life, of a sort; pigeons of all colours flock in the sky, and nest in the cold embrace of rusting weathervanes. they relieve themselves upon the forgotten statuary of dead gods and lost heroes.

...there are even men here, if they are truly men. they call themselves gargoyles, but they are not hewn of stone nor possessed of monstrous forms. tall and thin, with a pale grey skin, they gather in secret hunts beneath the open sky, searching for the lost pages of their holy books that are scattered across the rooftops. they believe themselves to be the animate forms of the statuary that adorns the world, mortal foes to the pigeons who live in the sky above. no women walk amongst their number; and they do not speak of the means of their birth to outsiders.

...some of their holy men can fold paper into origami spirits that have a spark of life. they speak in whispered metaphors and iambic phrases, snatched from the mouth of their god. it is blasphemy and black sorcery to them to form new phrases without the glyphs of the holy apocrypha to guide them.

...above the roof drifts an eternity of red balloons, vivid in the quiet eternal twilight of the world. each carries a small object aloft, from forks to baskets to origami cranes. occasionally, a pigeon will nest upon one.

...sometimes the rusted weathervanes will twist and turn despite the lack of the slightest breeze. the gargoyles consider this to be the most fateful of omens, and follow their direction with intent concentration.

Torpedoes and Hangar Bays

Fighter Bay

Swarms of fighters maintain a constant void patrol around this vessel. The cavernous fighter bay contains a full squadron of fighters, either of Imperial Naval stock or a more exotic vintage, and the support facilities necessary to keep them in action. Brave void-pilots may roam the ship’s halls, set above the common ratings by their lethal career.

Void Patrol: Increase the ship’s turret rating by 1 during combat.

Turret Suppression: During combat, the ship may launch fighters against an enemy ship to suppress turrets as an Extended Action. This requires a Difficult (-10) Piloting Test, and will suppress 1 point of enemy turrets, plus 1 point of enemy turrets for every degree of success.

Heavy Lifter Bay

Any warp-vessel will be festooned with a wide variety of smaller craft for ferrying cargo, crew, and passengers between ships, stations, and planets. A ship mounting a heavy lifter bay has vast swarms of these vessels, giving it the heavy spacelift capacity necessary to run a major mining operation, transport an imperial guard regiment, or survey a planet. In battle, these craft can be turned to use as impromptu assault craft, transporting hundreds of armed troops onto an enemy vessel.

Improvised Assault Craft: When conducting Hit and Run attacks or boarding an enemy vessel, the heavy lifter bay provides a +10 bonus to Command Tests.

Additional Facilities

Promenade

While ships may act as space-going cities, few vessels dedicate much in the way of space to this function, instead leaving the crew to undertake black-market trade and criminal activities. A promenade supplants this underground activity by serving as an official ship-board marketplace and recreational area, giving the crew. Crew members can gather here to trade, supplement their ship-board rations, and enjoy their off-duty hours.

All vessels have some level of medical facilities, but a ship with a full Apothecarium is equipped with major surgical facilities, resucatrix chambers, and clinics to tend to the crew. Experienced tech-priests and medicians work to heal the sick, install augmetics, and treat the wounded in battle.

Triage: Reduce all losses to Crew Population by 1.

Chiurgeon Chamber: This component provides a +10 bonus to all shipboard Medicae tests.

Flux Generator

Smaller than a full plasma drive, a flux generator can provide additional power by drawing on the inertial flux of the ship’s gravity field.

Flux Generation: Provides an additional +5 power.

Unstable: When damaged or affected by a critical hit, this flux generator causes an additional 1d5 points of Hull Integrity damage.

Void Cathedral

Many ships have shrines to the Emperor aboard. Some, however, transform their entire vessels into glorious acknowledgements of the Emperor’s will by building massive Void Cathedrals into their very core. A Void Cathedral sits at the heart of a vessel, a mighty structure that incorporates ancient reliquaries, monastic chambers, and a massive sermon-hall that can accommodate a significant portion of the ship’s crew.

Reliquary of the Saints: When working towards a Creed objective, the players earn an additional 150 Achievement Points towards completing that objective.

Ecclesiarchal Blessing: Characters from the vessel gain a +10% bonus to all Interaction Tests made with members of the Ecclesiarchy.

Demonstrable Faith: Increase Crew Morale permanently by 5, and reduce all losses of Crew Morale by 1 to a minimum of 1.

Vox-Sermon: Characters gain a +10% bonus to all Interaction or Willpower Tests made to influence the crew, including the Hold Fast! and Put Your Backs Into It! Extended Actions.

Suffer Not The Alien: Any interaction with xenos causes 1 point of Crew Morale loss per day, and characters from the vessel suffer a -10% penalty to Interaction Tests made with xenos.

Hexagrammatic Cells

To suppress the flux and hew of the terrible warp is no easy feat. Hexagrammatic suppression cells are most often found aboard Inquisitiorial vessels, and are used to transport renegade psykers and suppress daemons. A block of hexagrammatic cells can suppress even the most powerful of psychic impulses, and can prevent the possessed or warp-twisted from wreaking havoc.

Rumours of Warpcraft: Reduce Crew Moral permanently by 3.

Warp Containment: Roll on the Warp Travel Encounters table only once for every ten full days of travel within the warp (minimum once per trip). Reduce all Crew Morale damage from psychic or warp attacks by 1.

Dark Harvest: When working towards an objective involving the transport, containment, suppression or protection of psykers, the players earn an extra 100 Achievement Points.

Astropathic Relay

An astropathic relay is a minor reflection of the great Astronomicon, a might beacon that boosts the native gifts of trained astropaths. Under the command of an Astropath-Transcendant, messages can be relayed across the galaxy, from the Halo Stars to Holy Terra.

Astropathic Relay: The astropathic relay provides the benefits listed on page 163, and comes with a full choir of junior Astropaths.

Techno-Shrine to the Omnissiah

This vessel contains a shrine to the Omnissiah, glorifying the Adeptus Machinus and the Cult of Mars, attracting additional tech-priests. It also includes a small techno-scriptarium, which provides a wealth of knowledge on archeotech and the sacred rites of the Adeptus Machinus.

This vessel contains extensive cryo-vaults, which can store additional crew or passengers beyond the standard capacity of the ship. Row upon row of frozen bodies line the crypts, giving the ship the impression of a flying tomb. The crew often spins tales about what occurs in the cryo-vaults, and are innately distrustful of anyone who is woken from them.

Frozen Passengers: When working towards a Trade, Creed, or Military objective, the players may gain an extra 50 Achievement Points towards completing that objective.

Sleeper Crew: Increase Crew Population permanently by 3.

Void Tomb: Reduce Crew Morale permanently by 2.

Vivarium

The transport of rare and exotic alien plants and beasts is a difficult trade, but the profits can be immense if the right xeno-specimen makes its way into the right hands. A vivarium is a series of large vaults with separate life sustainers, capable of simulating almost any planetary vaults and isolating their exotic cargo from the crew. Some Rogue Traders use their vivariums as a sort of living trophy room, containing specimens from hundreds of worlds in their past.

Exotic Beasts: When working towards a Trade or Exploration objective, the players may gain an extra 50 Achievement Points towards completing that objective.

Xeno-Lore: Through the study of xeno-organisms within the vivarium, any Forbidden Lore (Xenos) tests made aboard this ship gain a +10% bonus.

Aqua-Reservoir

All ships have large aqua-reservoirs, but a ship that selects this component devotes a sizeable amount of space to a major water reservoir. As a result, large quantities of coolant can be delivered anywhere on the ship.

Water Supplies: Increase the time a ship may remain at void without suffering Crew Population or Morale loss by +50%.

Fire Suppression: The reservoir can be used to fight fires more effectively, providing a +20% bonus to Command Tests made to put out fires and reduces Crew Population and Morale loss from fires by 2.

Lance Coolant: Increase the damage of all shipboard lances by 1, as the ship’s lance batteries may be more effectively cooled and fired more rapidly.

Unbalanced: A large aqua-reservoir reduces the ship’s Maneuverability by 5%.

Scholarium

Many crewmembers are the children of generations of void-travellers, families that spend their entire lives aboard ships. A captain who installs a scholarium aboard their vessel is acknowledging this fact. It provides nurseries that care for the ship’s children, and trains new generations of crew members in the skills and abilities necessary for the operation of a void-faring vessel.

Nurseries: Increase Crew Population permanently by 2, and increase by 1 every year.

Officer Training: Increase crew skill by +5%.

Augments and Enhancements

Pneumatic Arterial

A series of pneumatic transit tubes run throughout the ship, quickly conveying cargo, materials, and crewmembers around the ship. During combat, armsmen and repair teams can rapidly be deployed around the vessel, directly to where they are needed.

Armsmen Deploment:The ship gains a +10 to Command Tests when defending against boarding actions and Hit and Run attacks.

Repair Teams:Repair teams can quickly be deployed throughout the ship, granting it a +10 bonus to Emergency Repair tests.

Evacuation:Reduce Crew Population losses due to fires, depressurization, and other component-based damage by 1, to a minimum of 1.

This component may not be installed on vessels with a Tenebro-Maze.

Dorsal Castellum

A castellum is a massive tower that extrudes from the ship’s dorsal region, expanding the space available for shipboard components.

Expanded Space: This component increases the amount of space available aboard ship by 2.